When India got independence on 15th August 1947, the Travancore Kingdom didn't join the Indian Union Government. The Diwan of Travancore Kingdom announced in June 1947 that the Travancore Kingdom will be a separate country by itself.
During that period, the Travancore Kingdom was well developed with Public Transport, Telephone Network, and Heavy Engineering Industries. The King took over all the expenses of the University. Above all, all Hindus were allowed to enter into all the Temples, without any bias on the caste, which was prevalent throughout India at that point in time.
When the talks were on between the Indian representatives and the King Chithirai Thirunal Balarama Varma, to make the Travancore Kingdom as part of Indian Union, the King said, "this land doesn't belong to me and belongs to Lord Padmanabha Swamy and I am only the Custodian. If the Lord Ananthan asks me to do, I will oblige". The Indian authorities didn't believe this and considered King's statement was just to dodge the issue.
But the Travancore authorities showed a Palm Leaf written on 20th January, 1750 signed by the then Travancore King Anizhom Thirunal Marthanda Varma in favour of the Lord Padmanabha Swamy that the entire Travancore Kingdom, which extended from today's Kanyakumari and Paravoor, belongs to the Lord.
This is the reason, why the Kerala State is called "God's Own Country".
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